I have been selected by the Nominating Committee as a candidate for the office of Director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's Board of Governors. For those who don't know me, I maintain a full service immigration law practice, handling cases in all areas of immigration and nationality law with a focus on deportation defense before Immigration Courts throughout the United States, appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals. I have been a member of AILA since 1997.

During the last three years I have served as the EOIR liaison for the Upstate New York Chapter, and was awarded the chapter's Equal Justice Under the Law Peter J. Murrett III Pro Bono Award in recognition for community service. In addition, I was awarded the New York Law Journal's Lawyer Who Leads by Example award for 2015 for providing pro bono representation to refugee children before the immigration court. In 2017, I received the Erie County Bar Association's Pro Bono Award in recognition and appreciation for pro bono legal services performed in immigration matters before the Court.

If elected my focus will be on the improvement and expansion of member benefits, transparency of governance, and the limitation of advocacy messaging to nonpartisan analysis of the immigration law.

I believe that AILA's main focus should be on serving the members of the organization, and it has a fiduciary responsibility to avoid advocating for policies that will harm our members financially.

I also believe that AILA's advocacy efforts have been both ineffective and detrimental to the reputation of the organization. Moving forward, I will fight to limit AILA’s official messaging to strict legal analysis of immigration law and procedure, addressing deprivations of due process, and administrative deficiencies.

It goes without saying that I have been one of AILA's harshest critics, but I am willing to make my voice heard from the inside in an effort to make our association better.

Re-Registration Period Opens for Syrians with Temporary Protected Status

Work permits expiring March 31 are automatically extended through Sept. 27

WASHINGTON—Current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Syria’s designation who want to maintain their status through Sept. 30, 2019, must re-register between March 5 and May 4. Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documentation, have been published in the Federal Register and on the USCIS website.

USCIS will issue new EADs with a Sept. 30, 2019, expiration date to eligible Syrian TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs. However, given the timeframes involved with processing TPS re-registration applications, USCIS is automatically extending the validity of EADs with an expiration date of March 31 for 180 days, through Sept. 27.

To be eligible for TPS under Syria’s current designation, individuals must have continuously resided in the United States since Aug. 1, 2016, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since Oct. 1, 2016, along with meeting the other eligibility requirements.

On Jan. 31, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced her determination that the conditions supporting Syria’s TPS designation continue. The secretary made her decision after reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. government agencies. Before the 18-month extension ends, the secretary will review conditions in Syria to determine whether its TPS designation should be extended again or terminated.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and Facebook (/uscis).

Federal immigration officials have arrested more than 150 individuals in violation of federal U.S. immigration law in Northern California this week despite the Oakland mayor warning of an impending raid.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made the arrests in the San Francisco Bay Area starting Sunday as part of “targeted immigration enforcement operations,” the agency told Fox News on Tuesday.

Roughly half of those arrested by deportation officers have convictions for assault and battery, crimes against children, weapons charges and DUI, according to the agency.

Immigration officials are authorized to detain certain aliens in the course of immigration proceedings while they determine whether those aliens may be lawfully present in the country. For example,§1225(b) of Title 8 of the U. S. Code authorizes the detention of certain aliens seeking to enter the country. Section 1225(b)(1) applies to aliens initially determined to be inadmissible due to fraud, misrepresentation,or lack of valid documentation, and to certain other aliens designated by the Attorney General in his discretion. Section 1225(b)(2) is a catchall provision that applies to most other applicants for admission not covered by §1225(b)(1). Under §1225(b)(1),aliens are normally ordered removed “without further hearing or review,”§1225(b)(1)(A)(i), but an alien indicating either an intention to apply for asylum or a credible fear of persecution, §1225(b)(1)(A)(ii),“shall be detained” while that alien’s asylum application is pending,§1225(b)(1)(B)(ii). Aliens covered by §1225(b)(2) in turn “shall be detained for a [removal] proceeding” if an immigration officer “determines that [they are] not clearly and beyond a doubt entitled” to admission.§1225(b)(2)(A).

The Government is also authorized to detain certain aliens already in the country. Section 1226(a)’s default rule permits the Attorney General to issue warrants for the arrest and detention of these alien spending the outcome of their removal proceedings. The Attorney General “may release” these aliens on bond, “[e]xcept as provided in subsection (c) of this section.” Section 1226(c) in turn states that the Attorney General “shall take into custody any alien” who falls into one of the enumerated categories involving criminal offenses and terrorist activities, §1226(c)(1), and specifies that the Attorney General“may release” one of those aliens “only if the Attorney General decides”both that doing so is necessary for witness-protection purposes and that the alien will not pose a danger or flight risk, §1226(c)(2).

After a 2004 conviction, respondent Alejandro Rodriguez, a Mexican citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the United States,was detained pursuant to §1226 while the Government sought to remove him. In May 2007, while still litigating his removal, Rodriguez filed a habeas petition, claiming that he was entitled to a bond hearing to determine whether his continued detention was justified. As relevant here, he and the class of aliens he represents allege that§§1225(b), 1226(a), and 1226(c) do not authorize “prolonged” detention in the absence of an individualized bond hearing at which the Government proves by clear and convincing evidence that detention remains justified. The District Court entered a permanent injunction, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Relying on the canon of constitutional avoidance, the Ninth Circuit construed §§1225(b) and 1226(c) as imposing an implicit 6-month time limit on an alien’s detention under those sections. After that point, the court held, the Government may continue to detain the alien only under the authority of §1226(a). The court then construed §1226(a) to mean that an alien must be given a bond hearing every six months and that detention beyond the initial 6-month period is permitted only if the Government proves by clear and convincing evidence that further detention is justified.

Matthew L. Kolken is a trial lawyer with experience in all aspects of United States Immigration Law – including deportation defense before Immigration Courts throughout the United States, appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals. He is admitted to practice in the courts of the State of New York, the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and has been a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) since 1997.